Engineering Development Manager in Bloomfield, CT at Jacobs Vehicle Systems, Inc

Job Description

The Development Manager is responsible for product development for their designated geographic region.  This includes leadership responsibility for all technical elements of the product, customer engagement, and project management.  The manager must posses strong engineering skills related to valvetrain development.  The manager is also an active participant in the designated customer Value Stream Team (VST) as the engineering leader with support responsibilities for all other areas of the business.

This position will be joining the Jacobs Vehicle Systems team (JVS) in Bloomfield, CT.  JVS is part of Altra (AIMC).

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Guide the development of products through the complete product life cycle including customer business development, concept generation and selection, detailed design and analysis, validation, manufacturing readiness, product launch and after launch support.
• Directly manage project engineers who are responsible for the day-to-day tasks associated with product development and be able to step in to perform such tasks when needed to support key customer deliverables.
• Coordinate shared resources in design, analysis, prototype and testing on simultaneous projects while making priority calls to meet key customer deliverables.
• Guide project engineers in the development and execution of Design Validation Plans and Reports (DVP&R) for qualification of the product to JVS and customer requirements. 
• Collaborate closely with the manufacturing teams in the development of the product manufacturing process, this includes Process Failure Mode and Effective Analysis (PFMEA), Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFM.DFA), process development aligned with lean principals, Assembly and Test specifications, Critical to Quality (CTQ) flow down, Value addended/Value Engineering (VVA/VE) and adherence to the JVS Quality Management System (QMS).
• Ensure that the project engineers are adhering to the JVS Tollgate process through effective project management and that the development cycle will meet the customers key deadlines and requirements.  Develop effective corrective actions to protect the customer when problems arise that impact key deadlines.
• Maintain high levels of customer engagement using the Key Account Management Process. This includes conducting Technical Road Shows to educate customers on different JVS technologies, frequent communication across different levels of the customer organization, being responsive to the customers’ needs, and ensuring key departments within JVS are also responsive.
• Reinforces engineering processes to ensure adherence to established standards and work instructions across the business.  This includes the development of new standards and active participation in the Change Control Committee responsible for group oversight with operations/engineering changes.
• Apply problem-solving expertise to drive continuous improvement across the business in both technical and non-technical problem areas.
• Active member of the Value Stream Team(s) contributing to key decisions in the areas of marketing, operations, and finance.
• Provides product support for warranty, field representation, quality, and legacy products.
• Develops budgets for all areas of responsibility including active monitoring, control, and updating.
• Responsible for the direct supervision of project engineers, including training, coaching, objective setting and development planning.
• Active innovation contributor with input into company decisions on Intellectual Property (IP) direction and patents.
• Up to 15% internationally and domestic travel.